[OPEN] 5 Times Peter Parker Looked Like He Needed Help + 1 Time He Should Have Needed It

[madeupnames]

who: Peter Parker and You!
what: Just some prompts.
when: Before July 20th, when he'll be way less sad about [mumbles about Infinity War].
where: See prompts for locations.
warnings: A picture of heights, and some blood from a hand boo-boo. And bullies. Lots of embarrassing Peter stuff I'm sure.



1. Assholes

[Peter Parker ducks his head as he's surrounded in an alleyway between school and the community housing, caught off guard by some local school bullies who seem more eager to torment the too-happy new kid with the terrible social cues. He's playing it safe for now, because if he is anything other than ordinary people might connect dots he doesn't really want connected. They're blabbering like all brainless assholes tend to:

"Nice sweater. Your grandma dress you up before you ran off?"

"Oh man, check out the fucked up shoes."

"Hey, this shortcut has a tollbooth now, Parker."

"I know he's got a tap card on him; shouldn't be telling people in class about that, fucking idiot."

Peter keeps his back to the wall, hands on his backpack straps.]

... Cut it out, guys. Leave me alone.

[He isn't scared — more like worried that he'll have to take a punch or something to keep his cover, because then it'll give them incentive to bother him more. Man, he's starting to miss Flash right about now; the guy was a grade-A dick, but at least he stuck to less physical means of assholery.

Peter's not sure if he's the only one these guys torment; he's betting he isn't.

Spider-Man could've handled this by now, he thinks miserably.]

2. Converse shoes

[Peter Parker presses his face to the shop window, eyeing a new pair of converse-adjacent shoes with almost sparkling eyes. He's wearing two mitchmatched shoes right now — a tennis shoe he got for half-off a few weeks ago and his even older nike sneaker. They're the same color, so obviously it's entirely unnoticable.

You see... he'd have his other sneaker if he didn't accidentally lose it when he kicked it off mid-Spider-Man change. He was in a panic to hurry and help someone dangerously close to where the groundtrams passed by and didn't know his own strength; the nike shoe is probably halfway across the dang city by now.

Nobody to blame but himself, here.

But...!! He's trying really hard not to give in to temptation, because he has to use the cash on his card to buy Bucky Barnes a new pair of shoes after he barfed pancakes on them.

A guy can dream though, right?]

3. Hand Cut

[Picture this: you walk through the community housing, to get to the elevator.

You push the button, and the doors open.

And Peter Parker is standing there casually, on his way down, his whole left hand wrapped up in bloody paper towels.]

Okay, this looks bad, but I swear it's not.

4. Insomnia

[Sometimes the city is just too damn loud. But, like, he's done with Spider-Manning for the night, so people don't think he's a total freak who never sleeps — that leaves him bored and overstimulated by the lights and sounds below. And sometimes it's a little more than that, swirling thoughts about what had happened back home, or something he didn't do quite right last week as Spider-Man, or the cult thing. So he goes up to the community housing rooftops and sits with his feeting hanging out between the railings.

He blows out a sigh.

Then posts a picture, because why not? If he's bored, maybe he can just... talk. Talking helps.]



Look at this view, it's pretty cool. City life is wild down there...!

Really puts a lot into perspective I guess? Insert philosophy essay here?

Also, does anyone know where grumpy uncomfortably scraggly Bucky lives?

I got him some shoes.

5. Attacked By The Local Chatterbox

["Aren't you the sweetest thing? I just wanna eat you up!" It's someone with a weirdly Southern accent, but he's pretty sure she's not Southern because she's not from Earth — she's from some other galaxy where everyone is twice the height of a human and all muscles, so much so they're practically bulging off her arms, under a totally lovely sundress. She'd just arrived to Riverview, and he was giving her directions, but now he's seeing this was a grave mistake.

She pinches his cheeks as she towers over him by a good five feet, and he squirms.]

P-please, Miss—

["Oh, bless your soul. You humans are just the cutest. How old are you now? Four or five? Where's your mother at, you little thing, you?" He sputters in surprise.]

I'm not five! I'm fifteen!

[Fifteen?! By golly, that's old enough to dress yourself in human years, right?!"

S a v e m e.]

+1. Getting Hit By a Car

[Peter Parker is crossing the street, most of the city sleeping now.

Maybe he's hanging out with you, someone he knows pretty well; maybe heading off to get some late-night dinner, because he's always starved, man. Or maybe he's on his own, just casually making his way back to the community housing, and you happen to be there. Maybe he's even stopping the truck that would hit you, if he didn't intervene with his own body.

Either way, a vehicle runs a light — and is flying at Peter and his fellow person so quickly, his Spider senses almost don't read it in time. But when they do, his body jerks into action; he puts both arms out in defense, and the car slams into him at full force.

The hood gets dented, and the truck jerks to a very abrupt stop. The man in the car is cursing and holding his bleeding nose from where he'd hit it on the steering wheel, and Peter Parker is peeling his hands from the indentions they've left on the metal.

... Ummmm.

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm.

... Shoot.]

Comments

5

[advanced]

[Bucky planned never to run into Peter again.

The kid was just too-- intense, too talkative, and add that to the fact that they were from a shared origin world with him knowing the Avengers here, it was a whole multitude of reasons to never actually go near him again.

It just dumb luck that he happens to be passing down this street that morning, wearing a tatty pair of jeans and a faded blue hoodie with suspiciously pristine leather gloves at the end, no matter how nice of a day it is. He's about to cross over and keep walking, when he hears what's going on.

Maybe he should save the kid, since he seems utterly incapable of doing it himself.]

Ma'am, thank you for finding him, he wandered off and he's too young and too dumb to do it alone. I'll take him from here.

[madeupnames]

[Oh man, hey! He'd been looking for you, dude. But most importantly, he is being rescued at the same time, which is — a win-win, as far as he's concerned. The tall and imposing alien is friendly enough, complimenting Bucky on his handsome young son as Peter and him make their get-away. He pulls on the straps of his backpack, huffing a breath of relief.

Of course, that leaves him with the awkward serious man.

Oh well.]

Geez — thanks, that was a close one.

I thought she'd put me under her arm and carry me off to a daycare or something.

[advanced]

Might be the best place for you, can't you go five minutes without getting yourself into some kind of trouble?

[Puking because of an eating contest, and now being harangued by an alien lady, seems like Peter is just one of those kids who seems to bounce from one odd situation right into the next odd situation.]

[madeupnames]

Trouble's the funnest part of wandering a city, isn't it?

[PETER NO

But also, he smiles, pleased with himself.]

I've been wondering where the heck you were; you're not on any roster-thing. Are you living in a cave or a treehouse somewhere, or what? Please don't say dumpster, I call dibs on that.

[IS HE JOKING ABOUT THE DUMPSTER?????]

2

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Bucky doesn't venture into the shopping district very often. He's built up a wardrobe, mostly grandpa-esque Goodwill stuff as it is, and doesn't feel the need to buy clothes very often. Unless something happens. A recent rescue mission into swampy jungle, unfortunately, has ruined his favorite pair of heavy-duty boots - no matter how long he's kept them by the fan, they haven't fully dried out, and still smell a little moldy. It's not great, and reminds him of wearing the same pair of godawful red pirate boots through two months straight in the Pacific during the war - they had not been salvageable when he'd returned Stateside.

He's on his way out of a shop with a box under his metal arm - a new pair of good combat boots, to replace those old ones, when he spots a kid with his face practically pressed to the glass, admiring a pair of sneakers. The sneakers themselves look a lot like something Yuri, not too much older than this kid, would wear, he thinks.] I guess that's the style with kids your age these days? [He remarks, gesturing vaguely to the sneakers, the corners of his lips pulled up in a slightly teasing smile.]

[madeupnames]

[O-oh, it's Barnes. Clean, nice Barnes! Not quite the one he threw up on.

Don't worry about it, totally not important. He looks at Bucky with a surprised little twitch of his shoulders, caught red-handed with his hands nearly on the glass. Okay, he's Peter now — not Spider-Man. Don't act too chummy.]

Oh! Y-yeah. They're really awesome. Those and Nikes, those are my thing.

I'm not really stylish, though, so I wouldn't hold me up as any example.

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Yeah, this Barnes is not aware that Peter Parker is Spider-man. In his world or otherwise. How this is possible when he has pretty extensive access to SHIELD databases and personal access to a man like Nick Fury, we will never know. #comics

He glances briefly from the kid to the sneakers, a little wry.] I think a kid I train has a pair of those. [Except he's pretty sure Yuri's are probably leopard print or something equally horrendous like that. Teenagers.]

Just admiring today, not buying?

+1 OH BOY

[yakyuuman]

[ Jyushimatsu had met Peter after breaking out some sweat in the park, where he decided to engage in some late night baseball practice. His wounds have all but healed and his hands have been aching to handle his shiny new baseball bat Ichimatsu gave him as a late birthday present.

They were crossing a street while chatting about nonsense as usual. Nothing anticipated the trouble about to burst a few instants later. He couldn't see it coming.

It happened too quickly. Now there's a quite terrified Jyushimatsu on the asphalt, who ended up there because he fell on his butt during the awful impact. He's not shocked because of the incident per se, but because of what his eyes are witnessing. There is so much wrong with this picture. Peter is... what the fuck did Peter just do? ]

Uhhhh... hey... are you... did you...?

[ A shaking sleeve points straight at Peter, because he momentarily lost his ability to think up actual words. ]

[madeupnames]

I didn't! I didn't do anything.

[He holds his hands up like he's about to be arrested. Or like he's washing his hands of the car, where the man is sitting in confusion behind the seat. He should get outta here — yes, yep, they should get outta here. He reaches down and grabs Jyushi's sleeved arm, hoisting him up effortlessly as he nudges him to move.]

Wwweeeee gotta go, let's go, yep yep yep—

[yakyuuman]

[ He's so confused and upset and terrified, but the moment Peter pulls him up like he weighs nothing is when his eyes flicker to the car and he sees the Peter-shaped dent in every gruesome detail. So many questions run through his usually empty head, but for now he does as he's told, making sure his friend is with him as they rush away from the area. ]

There's no way you didn't do anything!

[ It's not an accusation, but he sounds very rushed and panicky right now. Who would have thought this nerd kid was capable to do something like that? Jyushimatsu is pretty sure he didn't imagine things... ]

4

[thisisamazing]

It's pretty wild out here too, haha.

[And then he attaches a photo, an aerial view of the jungle past the walls, a massive canopy of trees and foliage with a few spots of bright color in the background - a flock of huge birds in all shades of the rainbow taking flight.]

I guess I'm not the only person who thinks better in a high place, huh?

[madeupnames]

Oh man, that's an awesome view! where're you at right now? :O

Hanging around the monster woods?

[He doesn't go there a whole lot; trees are tricky, and he likes to keep monsters away from the wall — not not, like... interfere with their natural lives.]

[thisisamazing]

About thirty miles south of the city! I'm following a group of migrating reptiles right now.

Are you on the top of the communal housing building? I used to like to sit up there. It's nicer, isn't it?

1

[wingedman]

[Sam's actually alerted to the trouble by some restless pigeons trying to eat from a dumpster - honestly, you're just trying to get some day-old bagels and these noisy nestlings have to cause trouble - and, being Sam, pokes his head into the alley.

Oh, for fuck's sake.

The thing about Sam is that, while he might not be Thor or Steve, he is a trained veteran from military special forces, and flying the way he does requires a lot of working out. So, yeah, he's short, but more than muscular enough to scare off some dumbass teenagers. But he starts out with a bright, cheerful smile. It's not like he's going to beat teenagers up.]

You guys don't have some kinda football practice to be at? Or drama club?

[madeupnames]

[The four teenagers heads whip as they look at Sam, Peter's joining them. It's clearly already putting some of the water on their fire, so to speak, and they all take a step away from their target (which is nice, because it was getting kind of annoying and claustrophobic, here). They seem way less excited about dealing with an adult and not someone who seems less confident, more weak — but the brave (and stupidly smug) one of the group seems up to the task while the others back up a little.

"Yeah, yeah, we're his bodyguards," the guy says, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder and sounding blatantly sarcastic. "We're taking him to robotics class. Isn't that right, Parker? You just love causing messes."

"Maybe getting him some decent clothes," one mumbles, unimpressed.

Peter looks at the ground, brow furrowed and the tips of his ears slightly redder, and nudges off the hand sharply.]

They've got — football, yeah.

Wouldn't want those thick skulls to go to waste.

[The hand he nudged off makes an annoyed fist.

But it was nice to say that, so it's cool.]

[wingedman]

You know, I could go on about the psychological reasons behind teenage bullying. One of you is probably doing it because you want attention from your parents, positive or negative. One is doing it because of a cycle of toxic masculinity perpetuated by your father or other prominent, possibly including abuse of varying sorts, and pushing smaller kids around allows you to feel like you have control over something in your life. Someone's doing it for peer pressure and/or to feel cool. And, honestly, one of you is just a dick.

[Sam's still smiling at them, arms at his side in a nice, open, neutral posture.]

I mean, you're all dicks, but it's important to consider the underlying causes that drive you to do this, because for some of you, this might be the impetus you need to realize that you're taking your aggression out on the wrong person and get help.

Also, at least one of you is only making fun of his clothes while knowing that you're in almost as dire straits as Peter is, financially speaking. Just pointing that out.

[Is Sam psychoanalyzing these guys? You damn well bet he is.]

3;

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Meanwhile, here’s Peter Quill, a lollipop in his mouth, waiting patiently for the elevator while he plays whatever Riverview equivalent of a popular phone game is. Candy Crush? Threes? PUBG? Yeah. Sure. One of those.

Because, listen, Peter may have a jetpack stowed away in a travel-sized trigger that he typically keeps in his back pocket, but he understands that things have purposes. Doors and elevators and stairs exist for a reason. And he’s not going to jump off the balcony to get to street level, unlike some people he knows.

So, really, the first surprise is that Little Pete is using the elevator at all. The second surprise is the blood soaking the flimsy paper towels wrapping his hand.

He presses a hand against the elevator doors to keep them open. ]

What the hell happened?

[madeupnames]

[Dang it, why do you catch him in uncool situations? Actually, the more you look at him — that's some awfully fluffed hair. Mask hair, you could say, like he's been wearing a certain costume just minutes before.

At any rate, hey Big Pete. He can at least be a little honest with him, compared to others who isn't aware of his other work. He looks at him, looks at the bloody paper towels, looks at Big Pete again.]

Juuuust work... stuff. It'll heal fast.

I was just heading down to my floor to wrap it up better.

[Y'know, heading down. From the roof.]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ ... yeah. Okay. Peter doesn't suffer much from helmet hair, considering his own mask only surrounds his face, but he still recognizes it when he sees it.

His eyes narrow, the stick of his lollipop bobbing a little as he rolls it to the other side of his mouth. The elevator pings to signal it's going on to the next level, Peter keeps the doors propped open again.

(Sorry, anyone who might be waiting.) ]

You sure you actually got stuff to take care of that?

+1

[citharede]

[ Athena probably ran into him on her own way toward a late-night snack after her shift at the karaoke bar, and has been regaling him with stories about every very passionate rendition of DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' that the evening brought about. That song is popular even on an interuniversal moon. Go figure.

She sees the truck run the light. She sees it barreling toward them. She freezes up.

She's not a hero, she's not a fighter, she's not even that quick on her feet. She doesn't have the instincts to dodge.

She freezes up, feels her whole body go numb, and thinks, Fuck, Jeff, I'm sorry.

And then Peter stops the truck.

Athena doesn't un-freeze. Her focus turns to Peter and what he did and those handprints in the metal.

First she thinks, I wonder if he left fingerprints.

Then she says, ] You told me you were fucking boring!

[madeupnames]

[A comedy of misfortunes, right here. He wipes his hands on his pants like that actually makes any sense for a human being to do after being hit by a car, looking at her and her frozen expression with his own wide-eyed stare (one that says: I fucked up right good). Oh, crap. He quickly flips his hood up as the driver of the car pokes his head out of his window in awe, and he grabs Athena's sleeve to usher her somewhere less open.

As he goes:]

I am boring! I'm super boring, I swear!

[That is so not working on her, obviously, but he was willing to do his best.]

We'll talk about it, okay, okay, cool—

[citharede]

Bullshit you are!

[ Sorry Peter, she's practically yelling. All that adrenaline has to go somewhere, and right now it's going into a weird combination of awe and panic that apparently has decided to express itself as loud noises.

Athena looks back at the truck, which is still in the road, either because the driver is just as shocked as she is or because Peter maybe crushed the engine or some shit with his bulldozer fingers. ]

What the fuck, what the fuck, we almost died, I almost died, we could have died.

1

[childofaxios]

[ It doesn't take much to size up what's going on in the alley. Chyler had been getting groceries, and spares a thought for the usefulness of canvas bags. At least when she puts them down she won't get alley muck on her food somehow, even if that means extra laundry tonight.

She has a thing about staying clean whenever possible.

So, down the groceries go. She strides down the alley to where Peter is trapped, radiating blank-faced hostility. ]

Let him go.

[ No time wasted on pleasantries here. Her squadmate, Vickers, had been a bully and she'd let it pass then because he was a good soldier. These people aren't soldiers. They aren't even creatively insulting.

Of course, they're probably also not intimidated by a five-foot-three girl in a starched button-up shirt and carefully pressed slacks, either. ]

[madeupnames]

[As much as he knows she's a fighter and all, the idea of someone getting involved because of his own predicaments makes him a little worried; he doesn't want to be any cause for concern among those he knows, anyway, so he holds up a hand. He's not scared of some bullies; any punches they can throw will hardly even faze him and his enhanced body, honestly.]

Ah — it's okay! It's okay, I'm fine. Everything's good.

[The Head Douche glances at her as well, rolls his eyes, and turns his attention back to insulting Peter — apparently, they don't seem to really believe she's a worthy threat. The others seem to agree with such an assessment, as one kicks over a can next to Peter and litters the ground with trash. "Oh, hey, everything's good. Hand over the fucking tap card before I dunk you in the dumpster. That's your favorite hobby, isn't it?"]

[childofaxios]

[ Chyler doesn't hesitate. Doesn't smirk, or quip, or draw attention back to herself. She's a smaller opponent. It serves her better if they aren't looking her way, even if she's sure she could take them on regardless.

She twists, snapping her leg up and out into a kick that lands squarely behind the lead bully's knee, knocking his leg out from under him and sending him crashing into the boy at his side. Take down the leader, you take down the lackeys.

She doesn't wait for them to run, though--they'll probably get mad before they get scared. Instead, as the third boy starts to turn toward his companions in confusion, she seizes his wrist and yanks him off-balance, turning in toward him and pulling at the same time. He can either go down on his back or get his arm dislocated. ]